Becoming a Palliative Care PA: A Student Interview

Palliative care is a specialty that focuses on improving quality of life for people with serious or terminal illness. It is delivered by an interdisciplinary team that often includes not just clinicians but physical therapists, massage therapists, chaplains, dietitians, and psychologists. Together they treat symptoms like pain, nausea, fatigue, and anxiety, and they help patients with advanced care planning.

So why are PAs hard to find in this field? Catherine Anna points to the history of the profession and a lack of exposure. PAs have traditionally been trained in curative and procedure-driven medicine, which is not what palliative care is about. The literature she found noted only 15 PAs practicing in palliative medicine at the time, which means very few chances for pre-PA or PA students to see the specialty in action. [VERIFY] She hopes to help change that and grow the visibility of palliative PAs over her career.

Catherine Anna found palliative care through a combination of work and personal experience. She accepted a position in a palliative care department working with breast cancer patients right around the same time she was navigating the healthcare system herself as someone with a chronic condition.

That dual perspective was eye opening. She saw firsthand how much it matters to have a specialty focused on quality of life, one that lets patients define what quality of life means to them. As she puts it, it is empowering as a patient to be listened to and to take back some control from an illness that shapes how you live. That experience made her want to be part of a field that can do so much good in people's lives.

It is a good reminder that the path to a specialty is rarely a straight line. Sometimes a job and a personal chapter come together and point you somewhere you never expected.

Catherine Anna's number one tip is to invest the time, effort, and grit it takes to truly master your prerequisite courses. A strong foundation makes the adjustment to PA school noticeably easier.

She also has wise words for applicants who are laser-focused on one specialty: it is great to be passionate, but do not discount the value of other fields. Most of your clinical rotations will happen outside your dream specialty, so stay open to absorbing as much knowledge and skill as you can from every rotation.

Finally, she shared the biggest challenge of PA school so far, and it is one most students hit: reframing how you learn. In undergrad she could cram the night before and earn an A. In PA school, the goal shifted from chasing a letter grade to actually learning the material she needs to be a competent, capable clinician. That mindset shift is the real work.

Catherine Anna's story is a great reminder that there is room in this profession to carve out a specialty you care about deeply, even an uncommon one. Keep an open mind, build a strong academic foundation, and follow what moves you. If you are figuring out how your interests fit into a PA career, we would love to help you map it out.